(NewsNation) — The Trump administration is now targeting the leaders of La Nueva Familia Michoacana Cartel, the Hurtado Olascoaga brothers.
The U.S. Treasury has announced economic sanctions against the cartel’s two leaders, Johnny and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga, as well as their siblings, Adita and Ubaldo.
The State Department is offering up to $8 million in rewards for information leading to their capture and conviction — $5 million for Johnny, $3 million for Jose Alfredo.
The brothers are currently fugitives and are believed to be hiding in Mexico, according to federal officials.
“Now these brothers were charged by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia with various crimes related to the manufacture, distribution, and importation of massive quantities of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the United States,” said Michael Herskowitz, chief of the Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Georgia.
La Nueva Familia Michoacana has deep roots in central Mexico and is notorious for combining brutal tactics with modern technology, like weaponized drones.
This comes after the U.S. designated the cartel a foreign terrorist organization in February in a rare move that allows for expanded federal tools to dismantle the cartel and its international drug trafficking network.
The cartel leaders’ sister, Adita Hurtado Olascoaga, is also facing charges and is accused of laundering money through used clothing stores in the Rio Grande Valley.